Police Watch: Nov. 9, 2012

MONDAY, NOV. 5, 7:15 p.m. — Officers on patrol responded to Keuka Hall in Hillside Community after a fire alarm went off in the building, said Investigator Patrick Reilly of Binghamton’s New York State University Police. The officers found students in the kitchen, who had set off the alarm while cooking with oil. Oil had splashed on the walls and on the stove top, but there was no damage. The officers told the students to clean up the mess, and they reset the alarm in the kitchen.

TUESDAY, NOV. 6, 5:18 p.m. — Officers on patrol in the Old University Union found an illicit sign by one of the campus polling booths, Reilly said. The sign said “no fracking, vote Line A Democrat.” The officers noted that the sign violated New York state laws for electioneering and took it down. An anti-fracking group had been demonstrating on campus, but there were no witnesses to indicate whether any member of the group put the sign up.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 7, 7:46 a.m. — Officers on patrol responded to the Engineering Building after reports of a suspicious person in the building were received, Reilly said. The officers were told that a homeless person had been seen sleeping in the building’s first floor bathroom. The officers found the suspect, who said that he just got a job and was trying to save money. The officers told the suspect that he could not stay in the bathroom, as he had no legitimate reason for being on campus, and escorted him to the bus.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 7, 2:59 p.m. — A fire alarm went off in Dickinson Community’s O’Connor Hall, Reilly said. Officers responded to the scene and found a person who said that his coat had been caught on the pull-station, and as he freed it the alarm went off. The officers reset the alarm and the building’s occupants were able to return.